This started as an answer to Mr. Devereaux, but then I got to ranting at cruising speed, & there was then no turning back: You know Admiral Farragut–damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead! He pointed out reasonably that Germans should not be blaming Greeks or Greece, but themselves. I would add, Germany, the EU, & the banks have not acted reasonably or charitably, either. So off I go into the minefield, but not before summing up what might be a confusing essay: Germany, German persons of influence with public opinion, & the various banks, mostly non-German, had cause to know better than they did or do; & they were under no compulsion to do the things that they have done to get into this situation; & they are only angry now out of moralism: They think they’re good people, so they deserve better.<\/p>\n
So this then is where we are now: Germans do not wish to pay to bail out Greece. Without apparently unending bailouts, the EU will have to acknowledge a failure, kick Greece out, & show a weakness that might prove fatal. Germans must now choose between a debt-default which would cost EU-based banks dearly & the first EU & Euro failure, which would cost EU politicians dearly. It’s their own damned fault or at least it’s their own doing.
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\nFirst, let’s do a bit of basic psychology. You see a wino staring in the store-window, gazing lovingly at the liquid courage, you do not start throwing money at him. You invite a wino into your home, you do not invite him to take the occasion to start making love to all your bottles.<\/p>\n
& yet this is what the EU has done. Greece could not force the EU to get into the EU or into the Euro. & it could not use fraud to get in either, being that the EU or the individual countries had all the knowledge they could possible desire. Without force or fraud, it was done with consent. All the lies told on all sides were consented to. & then the terrible debt came. Greeks did not steal that money. It was given them by institutions that boast of their knowledge. They don’t know that Greece has defaulted on all its debts, repeatedly, in the last two centuries?<\/p>\n
These days, we do not say a man is a slave to a passion & is therefore not all that human. We use euphemisms: Addiction, enabling behavior, co-dependant relationships. Gambling, getting drunk, whatever else–these days we pretend we have the knowledge to prevent or cure these things. We believe secretly or not so secretly that knowledge is power–that we can get what we know to be good by science. Why cannot we face the ugly truth?<\/p>\n
One good reason is this: We’re often carelessly evil. Look at the all right-wing types showing off callousness or cruelty in the case of Greece. It’s not their job to help out, admittedly, so they cannot be faulted for not making things better. But there is something sick in taking pleasure in humiliating people who are suffering things most of the critics cannot imagine. There is a kind of small, mean evil in humiliating people who are not only suffering, but really confused & desperate about what’s going on…<\/p>\n
People who know anything about people should be concerned about a generation of Greeks growing up facing bankruptcy & unemployment at home, humiliation abroad, & no hope for a livable life or anything better in the future… Moralism, of course, is not going to fix the institutions or the psychology in Greece. Maybe nothing will. But moralism reveals a dangerous thoughtlessness & carelessness. The EU types who want to hold Greece accountable only really want to make sure they themselves are not held accountable. If these politicians & pundits think Greece was irresponsible with EU monies, weren’t they far more irresponsible & first?<\/p>\n
There is a pleasure in seeing people suffering, if you think they had it coming. Do we take pleasure, though, in seeing a wino drink himself to death? He had it coming! He did it to himself! He’s not a moral person like I am–in my morality I have power over myself & the universe! This is the uglier side of moralism. Moralism is not wisdom. Our horse sense tells us, if moralism does not get in the way, that you should not give drunkards more drink. That morality–self-control, to be brief–does not apply to them. That in losing their self-control, they cannot be trusted. What they do & what they say vary wildly. Even kids know this.
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\nSecondly, let’s look at the political facts & speeches. Many of us on the right look at the Germans & the Greeks & blame the latter. Much is wrong with this.
\n1. The political psychology is basic: There is a moralistic assumption that good habits lead to good things–that is sometimes true, but not always. & who knows how to get good habits?
\n2. Then there is the history: It amuses me to remember that Germany raped Greece & America, after destroying Hitler’s power, rewarded Germany beyond anything imaginable, while doing next to nothing for Greece, at least comparatively.. Surely, Greeks know that there is almost no justice in the affairs of men…
\n3. Then the latter-day foreign policy of silly governments & the sillier banks they want to protect: Banks in various European countries were happy to lend money to people in a state that showed no signs of fiscal sanity. They lent the money; they collected payments on it. They had no care for the people there or the state or how many times Greece had previously defaulted. There is no law in such things, there is only what happens. People who lent money without reason are foolish to complain that the money was taken without reason… The money was lent out of love of money–but it turns out people who do that are also moralistic, not practical & prudent about what they do with money…
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\nThirdly, there is the matter of how to think about this problem prudently. Prudence is not the same as justice. Prudence is oriented toward the common good. What then is the community? Is it Greece or the EU? If the former, then the question is, what kinds of institutional changes are required to give people the reassurance that they are sacrificing for a good reason? This is when the personal is the political: Massive political change in a time of crisis does not often happen without a man broadly trusted by his people. If the latter, then the EU needs a mechanism to supervise political changes that cannot be made in the short term. Either way, the debt has to be erased, on whatever conditions seem likely to be enforced & likely to deal with the problem now called moral hazard. That is the opposite of the moralism we see so often. It does not do justice to the banks; perhaps they can get their money back starting in the next generation. But it is what is good & necesary. No one says there is any way for these debts to be paid; that is, no way but a harsh tyranny… It is time to learn that prudence is the opposite of moralism.<\/p>\n
This started as an answer to Mr. Devereaux, but then I got to ranting at cruising speed, & there was then no turning back: You know Admiral Farragut–damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead! He pointed out reasonably that Germans should not be blaming Greeks or Greece, but themselves. I would add, Germany, the EU, & the banks have not acted reasonably or charitably, either. So off I go into the minefield, but not before summing up what might be a confusing essay: Germany, German persons of influence with public opinion, & the various banks, mostly non-German, had cause to know better than they did or do; & they were under no compulsion to do the things that they have done to get into this situation; & they are … Continue reading